Antaria
Antaria, officially the Kingdom of Antaria (Rinat na Antaria) is a country in Elysia. The modern Antarian state, with all political institutions has existed since 1771, though the kingdom can trace it's origins back to 972. The country has a population of 17 million and an area of xx square miles. The official language is Antarian, with some minor regional languages also spoken in the south and east. The currency is the Denier. Antaria shares martime borders with Lanese Confederation to the southeast and the Community of Sadenist Federated Republics to the south. Etymology The name of Antaria originates with an old Lanese name for Angres, a historic county in Antaria. The word Antaria is an Antarian corruption of the Lanese term. It came into use unofficially in the 14th century ANC as a general term for the island and was officially adopted in 1508, in order to appease the varying regions. History Formation of Antaria In 965, the Count of Angres married his daughter to the Miquel, Duke of Alpedra, and upon his death in 972, the county passed on to Duke Miquel, as a personal union. His daughter, Alvia (973-1029), his only child, inherited the two lands in 998 despite opposition from the nobles. A cunning leader, she and her close advisers got rid of most of the traditional and dangerous nobles and replaced their titles with new ones for her allies. In 1001, she united the two lands into a single duchy. Civil Wars By 1120, the various independent states began fighting each other due to a variety of issues. Using their political cunning, military tactics, alliances and betrayals, the Duchy of Alpedra was able to keep the states in conflict with one another while keeping its security maintained. An difficult and uneasy truce was signed in 1202, and through political marriage the Duke of Alpedra inherited the Counties of Vilia and Benavis, albeit as a personal union. Vilia and Benavis were illegally incorporated into a Greater Alpedra in 1291, sparking further fighting in the region. In 1295 the nobles refused to further fund the Duke's costly wars without having a say, and he eventually ended up creating the Cortes Reals, an advisory body to assist him in governing the country. War took place from 1292, with Faures and Benieres the greatest opponents to Alpedran expansion. They raised up armies and were successful against the Alpedrans in 1292 and 1293. But, some disputes between the countries' leaders on the direction of the war prompted some infighting and allowed Alpedra to conquer most of Benavis. After nearly a century of peace, Benieres launched a war against Vilia and Mondaria in 1380. While Vilia was well-prepared Mondaria's army was ill-equipped and collapsed. Alpedra was asked to assist and effectively occupied Mondaria as they fought off Benieres. With the death of Mondaria's king in 1395, the Duke of Alpedra had the old king's heirs arrested and officially integrated the lands into his country, which he renamed Antaria, now elevated to a kingdom. Renaissance During this period, art and culture flourished, inspired by the Lanese renaissance. The country was at it's height in the 15th and 16th century. In 1428, the extinction of the royal family in Viana passed the crown on to Antaria. Through marriage, Vilia came under the personal rule of the King of Antaria in 1485. His son, xx, combined Vilia into Antaria in 1503. The threat of outside issues throughout the 16th century prompted Antaria, Faures and Benieres to consider some sort of union. In 1567, a confederation-type state was created, with Faures and Benieres retaining autonomy but integrated into Antaria. While the arts and culture flourished in the cities, the countryside was getting little from the economic growth of Antaria. The kings were now living lavish lifestyles, and the patrician dukes ruling Faures and Benieres were increasingly abusing their populations. Throughout the 17th century the power and influence of these patricians clouded the monarchs from the real Antarian Revolution By the 18th century, the country was faced with heavy expenses from the monarchy, from their lavish life, coupled with a displeased and ever-poorer peasantry. Coupled with the abuses of the remaining patricians (Faures and Benieres), unrest began in the countryside in 1768. Initially the nobles contained the riots, but when they expanded into royal lands, getting out of hand, the military was called in to crush the peasant uprising in 1769. While successful, this only prompted more people to revolt, and in the cities as well. With large portions of the military refusing to fire on protesters, the king's nephew staged a coup in 1771 and assumed control of government. The autonomy of Faures and Benieres was ended, and their autocratic rulers removed from power. Moderates were appeased by the re-establishment of the cortes as a body with power and the transition to a constitutionally-bound, unified state. Modern history From the late 19th century, Antaria began developing a welfare-state system, with government ensuring that the people's healthcare and welfare were looked after. Despite heavy spending and taxation, this system has significantly helped in reducing income inequality, increasing the standard of living and health. Today, Antaria is thus the benchmark for the best nation, being extremely stable and well-off, with one of the happiest and best cared-for populations in the world. Geography Antaria is split into five provinces, each being made up of districts and cities. The provinces are: #Angres #Viliana #Benieres #Alpedra #Faures Politics Antaria is a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament, the Cortes, headed by the prime minister (Presidente nallas Cortes). The Cortes originated with the Cortes Reals of 1296 (of Greater Alpedra), as an advisory council with limited power. The cortes achieved some measure of political power in the early 16th century BNC and since 1771 have been a democratically elected lawmaking body. Antarian politics is dominated by four main parties, the Social-Democrats, Socialist Party (Partide Socialista), The Right (A Direta) and the Centrist League. Most governments in the 20th and 21st century have been Social-Democrat, in coalition with the socialists or centrists. Politics and power are strongest at a national level, with the provinces and regions holding very little, except in regards to cultural affairs. Economy Antaria has a globally small yet important and stable economy. The currency is the Denier, which is the most stable currency in the world, floating between 1.15 and 1.20 florinos. Currently, 1 denier (d) equals 1.17 florinos (ƒ), 0,854 deniers equal 1 florinos. The local economy is based on secondary and tertiary products. Banking, finance and economic services are extremely large, as Antaria is one of the world's financial centers. Most secondary goods are mostly specialized and high-ends, including some electronics, automobiles, aerospace and high-end luxury goods. The vast majority of the economy is though centered on financial services and tourism. ---- The Royal Armed Forces of Antaria (Forzas armats Antarianas, Regia Antariana) serves as the armed forces of Antaria. The Military has existed since 1570. ---- The Monarchy of Antaria is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to the 10th century, but going further back. The current monarch is Queen Adelia of Antaria. List of Monarchs Dukes of Angres-Alpedra #Alvia, 998-1029 (973-1029) #Mateus I "the good", 1029-1040 (995-1040) #Mateus II "the fat", 1040-1066 (1018-1066) #Alfons I, 1066-1093 (1041-1093) #Aleida, 1093-1125 (1068-1125) ---- *7750 BNC - First settlement in the area now comprising of Antaria *7680 BNC - The ancient culture of Ebier begins forming *5980 - The Ebierians suffer through mass famine and die off. The surviving population splits into different groups. *5600 BNC - Languages developed from ancient Ebierian are formed *4230 BNC - First Lanean encounters with the people of present day Antaria. High Old Lanean is brought into the area for the first time. *2188 BNC - The Lanean Empire begins settlement of the Lands of Antaria. Local populations are initially resistant but soon begin to live alongside, and later with Laneans. *2140 BNC - Antaria officially becomes integrated into the Lanean Empire *1345 BNC - Antarian peasants start a revolt against the Lanean authorities, but are quickly crushed. *342 BNC - Antarian patricians and peasants begin a well-organized revolt which quickly turns into a full-scale war. *348 - Antarians manage to remove the Laneans from the island, and the patricians establish a consulate government, a council of patricians. *410 - Conflicts between patrician families leads to infighting, assassinations and an power struggle by the families. *411 - After some 12 months of fighting, the family of Viliana ends up on top and abolishes the council, creating a kingdom. *670 - The increasingly repressive king of Antaria is assassinated, leading to a civil war and the fracturing of the empire into several kingdoms. *1001 - Duchess Alvia unites Angres and Alpedra, laying the foundations of unified Antaria. Category:Antaria Category:The Elysian Project